Good Shepherd Director Honored Upon Retirement

Evelyn T. Allen was honored Friday as she retired as director of Good Shepherd Home Raker Center, and Theresa Engelmann officially took over as center director.

Raker Center is a home for 135 severely disabled people at 6th and St. John streets.

Reflecting on her years with Good Shepherd, Allen said she has seen tremendous growth in all of the major areas since she came to Good Shepherd as director of in-service education in 1974. She was promoted to director of the home in 1980.

"It is an exciting time now, with the new hospital. I think we will see continued growth as Good Shepherd becomes a nationally and internationally known center for rehabilitation," she said prior to a special retirement party in the Raker multipurpose room.

Allen, a graduate of the Monmouth Medical Center School of Nursing in New Jersey, earned recognition in 1984 as one of the first certified rehabilitation registered nurses in the United States.

A highlight of her career came when she was selected in 1984 to represent the profession of rehabilitation nursing on a United States-sponsored trip to China as part of the People To People Citizen Ambassador program.

Engelmann, also a certified rehabilitation registered nurse, was promoted to center director after serving as director of nursing at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital from 1980-1985. She came to Good Shepherd in 1978 as rehabilitation coordinator.

She is a graduate of St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing in New Bedford, Mass.